This invention relates to a suction device with an irrigation function which can promptly switch from a treatment of sucking blood, neurolymph, pus, bone debris and the like from a surgical site to a treatment of irrigating to the site in a surgical operation, particularly nervi craniales operation.
In a nervi craniales operation, two different treatments, i.e., a treatment of sucking/removing blood and the like from a surgical site, and a treatment of irrigating/cleaning the site with an irrigation such as a physiological saline, are often alternately repeated. A suction device with an irrigation function provided with a valve capable of switching suction and irrigation is used to switch these treatments.
During a nervi craniales operation a surgeon is generally seeing into a microscope, while having a device such as a knife with one hand and the above suction device with the other hand. The operation often takes ten hours or more and the surgeon may become extremely tired. Thus, it is desirable that the surgeon can promptly and securely switch from a suction treatment to an irrigation treatment and vice versa only with the feeling of his hand without visual confirmation.
FIG. 27 is a sectional view showing a conventional suction device with an irrigation function as disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Kokai HEI2(1990)-86560. In this figure the reference numeral 1 denotes a probe body. The probe body 1 comprises: a generally cylindrical valve housing 2; three packing rings 3, 4 and 5 slidably accommodated in the valve housing 2; a groove part 6 formed between the packing rings 3 and 4; a groove part 7 formed between the packing rings 4 and 5; a valve 8 for pressing the upper part of the packing ring 3 toward the bottom part of the valve housing 2; a coil spring 9 disposed between the packing ring 5 and the bottom part of the valve housing 2 for urging upwardly the packing rings 3, 4 and 5; a suction tube 10 formed in the side wall of the valve housing 2; an irrigation tube 11 disposed under the suction tube 10; and a probe connection 13 disposed between the irrigation tube 11 and the suction tube 10 and connected to the proximal end of the probe 12 with the distal end of the probe 12 extending toward a surgical site.
Next, the action of the device will be explained. First, when carrying out a suction treatment, the valve 8 is not pressed against the packing ring 3 and the like. The packing ring 5 is urged upwardly by the coil spring 9 to obstruct or block the communication between the irrigation tube 11 and the probe 12, while the suction tube 10 communicates with the probe 12 through the groove part 7. As a result blood and the like can be sucked from a surgical site.
Next, when carrying out an irrigation treatment, the valve 8 is pressed against the packing ring 3 and the like to a maximum to block the communication between the suction tube 10 and the probe 12 by the packing ring 4. Since the irrigation tube 11 communicates with the probe 12 through the groove part 7, a psychological saline and the like can be supplied to the surgical site.
Japanese Utility Mode Kokai SH063(1988)-62109 also discloses a suction device in the substantially same construction as the conventional suction device as shown in FIG. 27.
However, in the suction device as shown in FIG. 27 the probe connection 13 with the probe 12 attached thereto communicates with the suction tube 10 in a crank-like form, not straightly, in the valve housing 2. Thus, wastes such as bone debris sucked from a surgical site may hit the side wall of the valve housing 2 between the suction tube 10 and the irrigation tube 11 to accumulate in the valve housing 2. Ultimately it may cause jamming in the valve housing 2, the suction tube 10 and the like thereby requiring the device to be replaced during a significant surgical operation. Further when the valve 8 is pressed to and kept at a position between the position for carrying out the suction treatment (suction position) and the position for carrying out the irrigation treatment (irrigation position), the packing ring 4 and the packing ring 5 cannot sufficiently block the suction tube 10 and the irrigation tube 11, respectively. Consequently, both the suction tube 10 and the irrigation tube 11 simultaneously communicate with the probe 12. Since a sucking force decreases, wastes such as bone debris sucked from a surgical site tend to hit on the side wall of the valve housing 2 between the suction tube 10 and the irrigation tube 11 and the periphery of the groove part 7, thereby dropping and accumulating in the valve housing 2. In this state, if a user presses the valve 8 to a maximum, a physiological saline for irrigation may be mixed with the above wastes. The saline containing the wastes can be supplied to a surgical site as a cleaning liquid to contaminate the surgical site.